Android Headliner: Are Bezel-Free Devices The Future Of Smartphone Design?

Smartphone displays are getting bigger and bigger as the time goes by. The standards display size on a smartphone is much different now than it was a couple of years ago. The original Galaxy Note launched back in 2011 with a 5.3-inch display, and was considered a huge, huge smartphone. Very few people actually expected it to be such a huge success, and yet, it not only succeeded, but it became a part of one of Samsung’s best-selling smartphone series. Things are very much different nowadays, we’re seeing 5.5-inch devices on a regular basis, and some of them are even considered smartphones, not phablets.

Considering the fact that display sizes are increasing, it is only logical that bezels are getting smaller / thinner. There are a number of devices out in the market which sport really thin bezels, like the LG G3 and Huawei Ascend Mate 7 for example. One would think that the bezels won’t get any thinner, but that’s not the case. It seems like some smartphone OEMs are basically trying to remove side bezels altogether. We’ve seen quite a few leaks recently showing us devices without bezels on the side, the LeTV X900 and Oppo’s mysterious handset which leaked recently. These two devices are not the only ones though, ZTE’s alleged Nubia Z9 handset has also leaked many times before and showed us its almost non-existent bezels. We might as well mention Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge handset as well, the non-typical smartphone with a curved display on the sides. This smartphone doesn’t exactly belong in this category per se, but thanks to the curves, it seems like this device is bezel free as well, even though that’s not the case.

It seems like more and more smartphone vendors are joining the bezel-less smartphone train lately. The question remains, is this a good thing, or not? The bezel-free smartphones certainly look great, well, most of them at least. Will this affect the usability of those smartphones though? The aforementioned leaked devices seem like they’re prone to accidental screen presses and what not. We won’t know for sure until the devices launch, of course, but that might be an issue. I’m currently carrying the G3 as my daily driver, and even though accidental palm presses are not an issue, it does happen from time to time, despite the fact I have a rather large hands. It makes me wonder whether it will be more annoying on a phone with significantly smaller or non-existent side bezels. I haven’t had the chance to try out Sharp’s Aquos Crystal handset just yet, though I can image that’s a significantly different experience than these upcoming smartphones will be due to the “chin” below the display.

I personally do not mind having a thin bezel on a device, the G3 bezels are a perfect fit for me actually. I’d be lying if I said that I’m not intrigued by bezel-free devices though. LeTV’s bezel-free handset look great in my humble opinion, same goes for the latest Nubia Z9 leaked images, and I’d definitely like to try it out once the company makes it available. There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll see many more such smartphones hit the market by the end of the year, it remains to be seen how useful will they be though. What about you, would you like to try out such a smartphone? Do you think bezel-free smartphones are the future, or do you think the technology / design will lead us in an another direction?